Category Archives: Personal Retreats

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The Benedictine Center Enewsletter for December 2023

Monday, December 18, 2023
Daily Prayer Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Isaiah 60: 1-3

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The Courageous Journey to Renewed Hope

The Courageous Journey to Renewed Hope: October 16, 2021 Mary Elizabeth Ilg, Co-Director, Benedictine Center On Saturday, October 16, 2021 the Benedictine Center hosted a retreat group for a day of prayer and reflection focused on courage and hope.  Christine Jurisich, a well-known retreat leader from California (retreatreflectrenew.org) spent the morning talking about courage.  Courage comes…
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Making Friends with My Body

Making Friends with My Body When I was first diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in my late 40’s, I had been having back pain, overall soreness and sometimes just feeling exhausted for several years.  I had been to various doctors, orthopedic surgeons, chiropractors, physical therapists and athletic trainers and no one could do anything for me.  I…
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The Porter: At the Threshold of Hospitality

The Porter: At the Threshold of Hospitality In the Rule, St. Benedict commends the role of the porter, the person stationed at the front door and responsible for greeting visitors to the Monastery.  Whenever a visitor showed up, the porter was supposed to shout, “Thanks be to God!” or “Your blessing please!” (RB 66). The…
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Lectio Divina: A Word for Me

Lectio Divina: A Word for Me Once upon a time there were two sisters, Mary and Martha, who had Jesus as a dinner guest. Martha, a first century ancestor of Martha Stewart, created an impeccable meal. Mary created—well, Mary was a first century ancestor of couch potatoes and just sat at Jesus’ feet. Isn’t that how the story…
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Lectio Divina Transformation

Lectio Divina Transformation “CONSIDER THE RAVENS; THEY DO NOT SOW OR REAP, YET YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER FEEDS THEM.” What was on my mind at that time was scarcity.  Fear.  Economic insecurity.  In 2017, I lost my 27-year job as an office manager for an engineering consulting business when my former employer suddenly died.  I was…
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Time to Pause, Move Toward the Center

Time to Pause We have a labyrinth in our backyard which, weather permitting, is where I do my walking prayer every day.  One day, while I was preparing for a group to come and join us for a walk, my husband caught this photo of our dog, Bella, sitting in one of her contemplative postures…
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Unpredictable: The Invitation to Come Home

Unpredictable: The Invitation to Come Home My summer had surprising experiences with several unpredictable happenings. My body was telling me in no uncertain terms to pay attention to my aging process. More than one round of issues with blood pressure and wellness told me that I needed to let go of a few events I…
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We Dare To Hope (Part 2 of 2)

We Dare to Hope (Part 2 of 2) In part one of this reflection, I wrote that we much believe our collective Christian narrative, and then we need to tell our story.  Here let me say a few things about what sharing our Christian hope might look like. Take Opportunities First, we take the opportunities…
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Desire, Perseverance, Making Our Way: Reflections from the Monastic Retreat

Desire, Perseverance, Making Our Way Reflections from the Monastic Retreat On a Sunday evening in mid-June, the annual Community Retreat began at St. Paul’s Monastery.  The Sisters assembled in their usual places in the glowing Chapel, lit by the summer sky in the clerestory windows, joined by several Oblates, Benedictine Associates, and me.  The white…
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